In 1998, Annie Leibovitz, a well-known professional portrait photographer, appealed a previous decision in a case against Paramount Pictures Corp. Paramount Pictures parodied a photograph Leibovitz had taken for the magazine Vanity Fair. Leibovitz’ photograph was a profile portrait of actor Demi Moore when she was pregnant. Paramount Pictures parodied the photograph for a promotional campaign for its film Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult. Paramount’s photograph showed the head of actor Leslie Nielsen on the body of a pregnant woman. Leibovitz claimed that as the photograph was used by Paramount for commercial purposes, it did not fall under fair use. During both the initial trial and appeal, the court found that Paramount’s photograph satisfied the terms of fair use. They said that while Paramount’s photograph was inspired by Leibovitz’ image, it definitely had elements of parody. For example, the lighting and coloring used, the expression on Neilsen’s face, and the nature of the ring Neilsen was wearing conveyed humor. Leibovitz argued that she should receive licensing fees from Paramount’s photograph. However, the court denied Leibovitz’ claim. The court reasoned that parodies would not make much revenue through licensing
